The Sonning Common Health Walks was set up in 1996 by Dr
William Bird, who is a
general practitioner in
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
,
Berkshire, England.
The walks aim to reduce heart disease, reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, relieve depression and anxiety, reduce stress, help with weight management / obesity, and help with diabetes.
Each walk is led by a Leader who is a trained volunteer. The leaders know the route. You walk at your own pace but you are advised to stretch yourself to raise your heart rate and get you breathing faster.
Bird set up health walks from his practice in
Sonning Common
Sonning Common is a village and civil parish in a relatively flat, former common land part of the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, centred west south-west of Henley-on-Thames and north of Reading.
History
During the English Civil Wa ...
,
Oxfordshire, and then worked with the
Countryside Agency
The Countryside Agency was a statutory body set up in England in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The agency was dissolved in 2006 and its functions dispersed among other bod ...
and the
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...
to expand it nationally.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Sonning Common Health Walks
Health in Oxfordshire
Walking in the United Kingdom